Turkish Publisher Sabah Newspapers places big order with Goss

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Press release from the issuing company

May 6th 2004 - Goss International has taken an order from Merkez Yayin Holding A.S. for 58 Goss Community units for three of its printing plants across Turkey.
The units will form two new presslines printing leading Turkish national daily Sabah at new locations in Antalya and Trabzon and a four-high tower addition to its existing Goss Magnum(tm) press in Istanbul.
Mr. Selim Gülmen at Merkez Yayin Holding A.S. comments on the order, "We have had Goss presses for many years now and are confident in their ability to provide us with the very best quality, flexibility and reliability for our publications. The investment we have made to install more Goss equipment will enable us to remain ahead of our competitors and to provide the 'color-rich' quality we require."
The new pressline at Antalya in southwest Turkey will comprise 28 new Goss Community units arranged as six four-high towers and two two-high towers. With a cut-off of 560mm and a web width of 889mm, the maximum press speed will be 35,000cph. It will print 46,000 copies daily for the local distribution of Sabah.
Peter Selby, Goss General Sales Manager says of the order, "Goss has worked closely with Sabah's publishing company in order to support its ambitions for Turkey. We have a comprehensive product portfolio, enabling us to offer a range of newspaper press solutions. The increased color capability with the new Community presses will help Sabah maintain its strong market position."
The second new pressline is located at Trabzon on the Black Sea coast in northern Turkey, and will consist of 26 new Goss Community units. These units will be arranged as six four-high towers and one two-high tower, printing 47,000 daily copies.
Both presslines will be on production in Summer 2004.
As well as printing the national daily Sabah that has a circulation of 448,000 copies, Merkez also prints the daily Takvim (317,000 copies), sports daily Fotomaç (222,000 copies), daily Soc (160,000 copies) and Cumhurriyet (82,000 copies).
Additionally, a four-high Goss Community tower has been ordered for the publisher's Istanbul facility that will extend its existing Magnum(tm) pressline. "We required additional color at our Istanbul facility in order to satisfy the demands from our advertisers for greater color flexibility. The ease of upgrade with the Community press has enabled us to add an additional tower to get the increased capability we require," states Mr. Gülmen.
Sabah's circulation figures have increased so much that the two brand new printing facilities are being opened in Antalya and Trabzon. "This venture will not only open up employment opportunities in these areas but will also help our distribution channels by having greater geographical coverage. Being closer to the eastern part of Turkey will mean that our news will be more up-to-date and more relevant to our readers," explains Mr. Gülmen.
Peter Selby concludes, "The Goss Community press has a large installed base in Turkey and a number have been in operation for many years in the area - testimony to their reliability, quality and continued popularity. Its new updated design continues to remain popular and its modular and value for money construction enables the press to be tailored to exactly meet individual customer requirements.
"Sabah have printed on Goss branded presses since 1987 and we remain focused on increasing their technical advantage through new investments and strategies. They have built a hard-earned reputation for pioneering the introduction of new technologies and have responded well to the increasingly competitive newspaper market in Turkey. This latest investment builds upon their success and we are delighted to have been a part of that."